CHAPEL HILL, NC — Inside Carolina is at the Dean E. Smith Center for North Carolina’s showdown against the non-conference opponent from the Northeast. It is Tar Heels’ first home game since January 23 against NC State. The postponements due to COVID-19 continue, as next Tuesday’s clash against Boston College has been canceled. Regardless, Roy Williams and his team are looking to recover from their loss to Virginia over the weekend. Nordeste is second in the CAA with an 8-2 conference record and is 9-7 overall. The tip is at 7 pm ET, broadcasting on ACCN Extra (ESPN app). Kyle Straub and Tyler Hansbrough are on the call. Injury note: UNC reserve guard Anthony Harris will not play after suffering a concussion against Virginia.
20:00 – Entries: Caleb Love, Kerwin Walton, Leaky Black, Garrison Brooks, Armando Bacot. Love misses the three-point ball, but Bacot grabs the offensive board and gets a tray for the first points of the game. Bacot achieves a quick turnaround with one hand to fall, four quick points for the second year. Northeast is 0-3 to start the game. There are already three faces for Tar Heels. Nobody recovers in the transition to an easy Husky tray. Roy Williams is emphatic on the touchline. UNC did not score in a few minutes. 7-0 disputed by the Northeast. NU 7, UNC 4.
15:40 – Tyson Walker steals the Bacot ball for the fifth turn of the UNC in 10 possessions. Day’Ron Sharpe checks in and immediately hits the post by two points to end the 8-0 streak. RJ Davis strikes the hoop in the transition and is rewarded with two free throws. Walker Kessler checks in. He led the UNC with nine points against UVa. Tar Heels goes with a full court press. Sharpe comes out of the three-point line and hits. Walton hits the three wide open to give his team the lead, but Walker responds with one of his own and Andrew Platek hits one. Good round trip game so far. UNC 16, NU 13.
11:50 am – Walker has 11 of his teams with 13 points for the Huskies. Sharpe makes a point of attacking the offensive glass, although the Heels have only gone down with two so far. Bacot pushes trying to gain position at the bottom. UNC up to six turnovers. He compensates with a long jump to increase his team’s lead to nine, 22-13. NU is 2 out of 10 beyond the arc. He can barely drive. Turnover No. 7 for Tar Heels. Walker reaches his second three and he is up to 14 points. UNC 22, NU 16.
7:55 – Walker up to 16 points. He is alone keeping his team in this game. Brooks is 1 out of 5 from the floor. Sharpe has up to seven points after converting the e-one. Walker hits the setback three and has 19 points. Kessler hits a three-point basket, the first of the season. Coleman Stucke hits a three to get NU in two, but Love hits a good float to answer. Sharpe hits the mark and has nine points out of 4 out of 5 shots. UNC 32, NU 26.
3:59 – Platek hits the charity striker. Love is passing too much and not too much shot tonight. He has two points in two attempts and six assists in two turns. Platek is in the right place for the offensive board and the reversal. Then, he gets the theft and the tray in the transition. The senior has nine points. NU timeout. UNC 38, NU 28.
1:30 – Brooks goes 1 of 2 on the FT line. He’s shooting 63.5 percent from there this season. Walker opens a trap, drives, but is met by three Tar Heels. UNC forces the trigger clock violation. Good recovery defense. Love drives in Walker and draws the fault with 1.6 seconds remaining. NU throws out the inside pass. Love throws the alley-oop pass to Sharpe in the middle of the field, but he can’t make it fall.
HALF: UNC 41, NU 30.
UNC range statistics: 15-33 FG (45%), 3-10 3FG (30%), 8-9 FT (88%). Sharpe: 9 points, 2 rebounds. Platek: 9 points, 4-4 FG, 2 rebounds. Love: 4 points, 6 assists. Team: 25 bench points, 9 second chance points, 8 turnovers.
Statistics of the NU range: 11-30 FG (37%), 5-15 3FG (33%), 3-5 FT (60%). Walker: 21 points, 7-8 FG, 4-5 3FG.
Second time
8:00 pm – Walton hits a three and misses to start time. He converts the free throw and the four point play. Stucke replies with three. He hits another in the next possession to reduce the advantage to nine. Walton blocks Black’s pass, but he steps forward and hits the 15-foot ball. He joins Platek and Sharpe with a score of nine points. Another night of filming not so good for Love. It is 1 of 4 on the floor and 0 of 3 on the bottom. A trap in the corner leads to a turn and a transition tray for Love. Stucke hits his third three of the time. NU is pitching 50 percent (4-8 FG) this semester. UNC 57, NU 44.
13:09 – Love’s pass leads to two free throws for Brooks. He does both. Love was an exceptional facilitator tonight with 7 assists and many more leading to free throws. No double-digit tar jumps yet. UNC 59, NU 45.
11:38 – Davis to Brooks for the alley-oop slam in the transition. Brooks has four Tar Heels with nine points. Kessler manages to steal and hit the transition. It’s not every day that you see the big guy running like that. Roy Williams almost threw his John Thompson towel angrily at Bacot and Brooks on the bench. Sharpe takes a bucket and is the first two-digit Tar Heel. Race 8-0 for UNC and his lead is up to 20. Sharpe is just stronger, faster and more physical down. He has 13 points. Brooks had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, the first since 12 January. UNC 69, NU 49.
7:31 – Walton hits the mid-range jumper. He has 11 points. Walker marks his first time points for the NU. Walton hits three more. He had a great night of shooting, 5-10 from the ground, 3-7 from the depths. Kessler and Sharpe checking after the media timeout. UNC 75, NU 56.
3:48 – Kessler runs faster than anyone and is rewarded with two free throws. It goes 1-2 of the line. Love finds Kessler in the next possession for an easy tray. Kessler has 10 points. Love has nine assists. Ryan McAdoo is the first member of Blue Steel to check in. Sharpe receives an offensive setback, but appears limping and will be examined by head coach Doug Halverson. UNC 80, NU 60.
1:39 – On the floor: KJ Smith, Creighton Lebo, Duwe Farris, Walker Miller and McAdoo. Lebo with a good baseline for two points.
END: 82 UNC, 62 NU
Final UNC statistics: 32-75 FG (43%), 5-17 3FG (29%), 13-16 FT (81%). Sharpe: 15 points, 8 rebounds. Brooks: 11 points, 13 rebounds. Kessler: 10 points, 7 rebounds, 12 minutes. Team: 22 points for turnovers, 42 points for painting.
Final NU statistics: 21-59 FG (36%), 10-30 3FG (30%), 10-13 FT (77%). Walker: 27 points, 8-15 FG. Stucke: 14 points, 4-8 3FG. Team: 16 turnovers.